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{
"id": 210272,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/210272/?format=api",
"text_counter": 176,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Ngilu",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Health",
"speaker": {
"id": 111,
"legal_name": "Charity Kaluki Ngilu",
"slug": "charity-ngilu"
},
"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all hon. Members for the support they have given to the Ministry of Health through their contributions. I have noted some of the concerns that have been raised on the Floor of this House. Since our technical team is here and they have noted those issues, we will see how the resources available will be distributed once this Vote is passed. We can make good some of the proposals that have been made. Mr. Speaker, Sir, hon. Members have invested Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) money to put up additional health facilities. We thank them for what they have done. Some of the resources have also been spent by hon. Members to upgrade some of the facilities and we thank them. They have also spent money to put up medical training colleges. We appreciate their support. The Ministry has gazetted 600 dispensaries. We will make them fully operational by providing them with medical supplies and health personnel. I will instruct medical officers of health to participate in the implementation of CDF facilities, to ensure that they are part and parcel of our plans, whenever they come up. We have heard from some hon. Members that they have completed some health facilities, and they are waiting for official opening and gazzettment. We will look into that as we continue to employ and hire more health workers. Mr. Speaker, Sir, hon. Members have indicated that majority of diseases that are affecting our people are preventable. That is true. To that end, we will embark on the implementation of a community strategy whose focus will be on prevention and primary health care. Hon. Members are aware that in order to ensure primary health care is given to our communities, we have opened up dispensaries and health centres for everybody. We have also reduced the fees that is charged. At the moment, at the dispensary level, people are expected to pay Kshs10. At the level of health centres, it is Kshs20. We have enhanced the medical kits. Members of the community can now access fairly quality health care from our facilities nearly for free. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we will re-vitalise our Afya Bora Programme and strengthen our programme health officers to enforce the Public Health Act. We have started training on environmental health at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret. However, we require support from the Ministry of Local Government to enforce the Public Health Act in municipalities where garbage and sanitation pose a major health challenge. August 7, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2999 Mr. Speaker, Sir, my Ministry is committed to ensuring that the recent policy announcement of free maternity services in all health centres and dispensaries is implemented. I have listened and heard the concerns of hon. Members, with some asking about our preparedness. At the level of health centres and dispensaries, we are very prepared. Women can, therefore, access those services without any problems. We will be providing each rural facility unit with a delivery bed and a kit. In the past, if you visited our health centres and dispensaries, you would find out that we did not have very important components such as gloves, cotton wool and sanitary towels. Those are the items that women really need during their delivery. That is now history. We have got all that and other facilities. We encourage our women to visit our facilities and be assisted by qualified health workers whenever they are having babies. Mr. Speaker, Sir, human resource still continues to be a major challenge in the Ministry of health. We would be doing better if we could employ close to 7,000 health workers, over and above the 4,200 that the Ministry has been able to employ with the support of our donors in the last two years. Although we have employed those health workers, there is still an acute shortage of health workers numbering, as I said, close to 7,000. As hon. Members are aware, there still exists unemployment of health personnel in the market. But because of the ceiling on personal emoluments, I am unable to absorb those health workers. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you heard some hon. Members raising the issue of drivers. Towards that end, we intend to hire up to 140 drivers for the ambulances that we distributed last year and this year to all the districts. In order to improve the referral system, we will identify a satellite health facility that will be provided with an ambulance, where each facility could call for assistance. Towards that end, we, in the Ministry of Health, have also put in place plans to ensure that each facility has a mobile telephone to help call for support when it is needed. Mr. Speaker, Sir, lack of adequate water in our facilities inconveniences both the staff and patients. I would like to request hon. Members to use part of their CDF allocation, once again, if possible, to put up boreholes near our health facilities so that they can be used, not only in our facilities, but also by the community living within the catchment area. This will support the Kshs150 million that we have put in our Budget for provision of water. Discussions are ongoing between the relevant arms of Government over the National Social Health Insurance Fund Bill. Once discussions are concluded, I shall be introducing the Bill for discussion by this House. In the meantime, we have embarked on the process of re-engineering the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), with the aim of reducing the high administration costs which was also observed by Members of Parliament. In the next three months, the NHIF will be announcing new rebate levels for the contributors. I would like to request Kenyans to enrol with the NHIF so that they can take advantage of enhanced medical cover. Mr. Speaker, Sir, hospital management boards are very critical in the management of our health institutions. Under the new arrangement of disbursement for funds, board members will be trained and we will rely on them to improve governance and accountability of funds. I agree with hon. Members that the cost of medical care is very high in this country. My Ministry is engaging professional bodies with the aim of coming up with reasonable fees. I, totally, agree with hon. Members that many times, people are charged by the way they appear or their standing in the society. This is unacceptable. Therefore, I will be getting the right professional bodies to look into that. When that is done, and discussions are concluded, we will publish the guidelines. We are partnering with the Ministry of Education on school health programmes, especially on de-worming, education on proper hygiene and nutrition. We will continue strengthening this in order to inculcate the culture of good health at an early age. We would like to request Kenyans to exercise regularly and eat healthy foods to stay health. This also applies to hon. Members of 3000 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES August 7, 2007 Parliament. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Nairobi Province, with about 3 million people, is still served by two public hospitals. As a result, the Kenyatta National Hospital continues to be used for the management of simple ailments. To make the Kenyatta National Hospital a truly referral hospital, I intend, with the collaboration of Provincial Administration, to establish and upgrade three hospitals within Nairobi. These are namely; Mathare, Pumwani and Kayole. I also intend to strengthen provincial hospitals to offer specialised care which would otherwise have been referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital."
}